


I Don't Know What You're Saying But I Know I Like It

by Preciadology



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-09-26 08:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17138834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Preciadology/pseuds/Preciadology
Summary: Sometimes, life throws curveballs at you in the form of cute boys. This is exactly what happens to Craig.





	I Don't Know What You're Saying But I Know I Like It

The thing about love stories is that they start completely out of nowhere.

And when they do, you don’t even get a warning or anything. There’s never a neon sign alerting you of the absolute catastrophe that’s about to happen. You’d just be doing something mundane, thinking about your grocery list, or what you want for lunch and then suddenly everything’s rose tinted and the sun’s shining brighter and from that point on, your life’s turned upside down, sideways, put in a blender and dumped out.

Like all love stories, of course, Craig Tucker’s begins at the grocery store.

— — —

All he needed to get was a 12 pack of Red Bull.

Clyde had asked- well, _paid_ \- Craig to run to the store real quick since he was almost out and desperately needed some more. Clyde had to have his Red Bull every morning like it was coffee. It definitely wasn’t good for him but since when had Clyde been conscious about what he put in his body? Besides, chugging energy drinks at 10 in the morning apparently did the trick to keep him awake. Hell, maybe Craig would try it out one day since he was never much of a coffee drinker.

The soles of Craig’s worn out shoes dragged against the rough pavement of the parking lot as he made his way to the grocery store. He was groggy this morning. He was groggy _every_ morning, actually. Feeling like a rain cloud was over his head this same time every day had pretty much become routine for him at this point. Don’t get him wrong though, Craig definitely loved his routines. He was a creature of habit. As a college freshman, he’d concluded it was important to him to have a personal schedule that not only maximized his productivity but maximized the time he spent doing nothing. And by ‘nothing,’ he meant either playing video games, watching TV or out being stupid somewhere with his friends.

The grocery store was only about 6 blocks away from the fancy apartment he shared with Clyde and Token. They were supposed to all stay in the dorms together since that was all Clyde and Craig’s families could afford, but Token’s parents weren’t having him sleep in a “dump” like that. They managed to score a sweet apartment close to campus. Rent was _way_ up there which was concerning until Token’s parents agreed to pay for a larger chunk of it and well, no one was gonna say no to _that_.

It didn’t take long at all until Craig got to the grocery store. The fluorescent lighting wasn’t doing any favors for the mood that came with having only been awake for an hour. He winced a little at the too-bright lights. He needed this to be over with already so he could go home, get his money from Clyde, and hatewatch the Netflix shows on his list like he’d been meaning to.

Knowing he’d find what he was looking for there, he took straight to the drink aisle. Sure enough, the energy drinks were there, in all their carbonated glory. He considered briefly whether he should get a pack for himself, just to try it out for a week but eventually decided against it, both because he couldn’t afford it and because he didn’t really want to change anything in his routine just yet. He’d rather stick to just splashing water on his face to jolt himself awake for the time being. He plucked a pack from the shelf and turned around, ready to get to a counter and pay for it, because that was the arrangement, right? Go in, buy the Red Bull, get out.

Well, the universe had other plans for him today.

Craig turned around and at the far end of the aisle adjacent was the prettiest boy he had ever seen. Like, _pretty_. Really, _really_ fucking pretty. And let it be known that Craig had _never_ used that word to describe a guy before. He had lots of words he used instead. Cute. Hot. You know, the basics. But ‘pretty?’ Never. Well, until now, it seemed.

He felt a strong wave of... _something_...down in his gut. It felt like missing a step down a flight of stairs. Except he was missing _several_ steps. And he was just full on falling. But for some unthinkable reason, he _liked_ it. Craig attempted to look down to check if his stomach actually _did_ fall to the floor but he found that he couldn’t move his head. His eyes were too firmly locked onto this guy who was on his tiptoes, trying to reach for a bar of chocolate on the top shelf.

But just then, candy bars spilled down onto the floor at the boy’s feet when he accidentally knocked the box over. The noise shook Craig out of his daze. It felt like someone snapping their fingers in his face while he was hypnotized. Once he came to his senses and processed what just happened, he quickly went over to help.

“Agh! I’m sorry!” the boy apologized as Craig picked up the candy and put them back up on the shelf. They were Milky Way bars.

“Thank you so much for, ngh, helping me! I...I can be really, gah, stupid and clumsy,” the blond said. He had little verbal tics and Craig thought it was adorable. The boy reached down to take one of the candy bars and his hand got so close to touching Craig’s that it almost made him jump. Craig was uncharacteristically nervous for some fucking reason. Except he did know the reason and it was standing right next to him.

‘ _Okay,_ ’ Craig thought. ‘ _Just focus on stocking this shit back up_.’

And that was working for while, but eventually, he ran out of Milky Ways to pick up. Of course, he had to address the guy, get out a simple ‘you’re welcome,’ just. _Something_. Right? So, he turned to face him and just as he thought, he blanked out.

 _God_ , he was even prettier up close. Light, barely-there freckles scattered across his fair face. Golden hair curled around his cheeks. And his eyes were green. The most beautiful shade of bright green. The way they peered up at Craig made his knees want to buckle. He fumbled clumsily for a way to approach this.

Charming. For sure. He wanted to say something witty and charming so this guy would like him- but, _wait a second_ . Since when did he _ever_ want to be charming? Since fucking when did he care about being  _likable_ to someone?

When all Craig did was stare, the blond looked away, embarrassed, and Craig didn’t _want_ that, he wanted him to turn back around so he could stare at his face some more and- _yeah_ . Okay. He guessed he cared about being likable since like, _now_.

Craig knew he had to say something and he had to say it fast. The problem, however, was that he didn’t work very well under time pressure. And what he ended up sputtering out showcased that very fact.

“...S-so you like the, uh, the Milky Way, huh? I-I do too. What’s um, your favorite planet?”

Craig winced _right_ after he got that out. He had never in his life seriously thought about hurting himself before but hearing that come out of his mouth made him want to punch himself right in the dick. The pain would at least distract from the pure, unadulterated shame wracking his body. He felt heat creep up onto his cheeks, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. _Fuck_. Lame. He was so fucking lame. He fucked it up. Who even fucking said that to a stranger? Gritting his teeth, Craig was about ready to just turn around and walk away-

But then the blonde giggled- like _actually_ giggled at what he said.

“I-I like Milky Way the _candy_ . But my favorite planet is...uh, the blue one?” the boy said, the pitch of his voice rising at the end of his sentence. It was...cute. Really, _really_ fucking cute. Craig couldn’t help smiling as his heart stopped a little. The blond began to walk in the direction of where the checkout counters were and Craig followed beside him like a puppy.

“Yeah, that- that’s Neptune. It’s pretty,” Craig replied. ‘ _Like you_ ,’ Craig thought. ‘ _Pretty like you_.’

“ _Oh_! I-I, uh...” the blond stammered, surprised and flushed a beet red. He ducked his head away from Craig. “Thank you.”

“...Huh? For what?”

“You, um...you called me...pretty,” the blond said, head still looking away to the side so Craig couldn’t see his face.

... _Shit_ . Did he say that out loud? He groaned internally. Fuck. Damage control. He needed to do damage control. “No, no! I-I didn’t say that! What I _actually_ said was...uh…”

 _Fuckfuckfuck_. What sounded similar enough to that to be passed off as an alibi? Again, Craig and time pressure didn’t mix well together. Exhibit B. “I-I said that um...the methane in Neptune's upper atmosphere actually absorbs, uh, the red light. The red light from the sun! But it- it reflects the blue light and that’s why Neptune is blue!”

The boy blinked. “Oh, gh, wow! I...I didn’t know that!” he said, lifting his chin up to look at Craig. Great. He probably thought he was a super grade A fucking nerd now. Which, according to Craig’s standards, he totally wasn’t. He chewed on his lip.

“I don’t really know much about planets and stuff,” the boy continued hesitantly, embarrassed. “But I, ngh, think it’s really interesting.”

There weren’t a whole lot of people in the store so when they got to a counter, it was pretty free. After the cashier scanned the boy’s candy bar, he didn’t even get the chance to take his wallet out before Craig was hurriedly pulling out a $5 bill and paying for him. Craig thought it was a good idea. It was to redeem himself after the fool he made out of himself. Sure, this guy thought he was a nerd, but now he’d think he was a generous nerd.

“Wh- no, it’s mine! I’ll pay for it,” the blond insisted.

“Hey, no, it’s alright. I got it,” Craig said as the cashier took his money and placed the candy bar in a little brown paper bag.

“Um...shouldn’t _I_ be paying _you_ for the, gh, the space fact?” the blond joked, smiling eyes. Craig’s heart soared. Fuck.

“Wha- that? No, that’s free,” Craig said, laughing nervously. He could feel his own stupidity push its way out of his mouth again. “I’m all for like, you know, free education. A-and stuff. Uh.”

The blond giggled softly as the cashier gave him his item before he stepped away from the counter while Craig had Clyde’s Red Bull checked out. Craig cursed quietly to himself. What the fuck was he even _saying_?!

The boy played with a lock of his blond hair, peering up at Craig. “H-hey...you know...if you want to, you should come to the coff-“

But Craig never got to find out what he was going to say because the sentence was interrupted by the shrill ringing of what he assumed was a phone. The blond jumped a little bit at the sound and after realizing it was his, took his phone out of his pocket and answered the call.

“Agh, hello?” the boy greeted. As the voice on the other line spoke, Craig could see the shift in the boy’s mood as his eyebrows scrunched up in worry and his lips curled into a frown. “Gah! Today?! Like, right now?!”

‘ _Shit. He sounds...really fucking stressed out_ ,’ Craig thought as he stepped out of the lane, paper bag in hand.

“Ngh, okay, I’ll be right there!” the boy said, stuffing his phone into his jeans pocket before turning to Craig, smiling wobbly and apologetic. “Hey, I, gh, I-I have to go now, I’m really sorry!” He stammered so quickly Craig almost couldn’t understand.

Before Craig could even register that he was saying goodbye, he was already walking away speedily, the automatic doors of the store’s exit giving way for him. Swiftly, Craig jogged to keep up with him out into the parking lot, chilly air hitting him full force. “Hey...wait!”

“I’m sorry, I-I just _really_ need to get to the coffee shop; my shift’s in 10 minutes!” the boy called out, already a significant distance away.

Thinking that no, the boy probably didn’t want Craig chasing after him because that would look crazy to everyone seeing them, Craig eventually stopped. The blond continued to dart hurriedly down the parking lot but suddenly paused where he was and turned around. Even from the distance, Craig could see the indecisiveness on the boy’s face as his eyes paced from Craig to the direction he was heading. His eyes were wide and he was biting on his bottom lip. It looked like he wanted to say something. Whatever it was, it seemed the boy decided against it because a few seconds later, he was turning back around and continuing on, presumably to the coffee shop he was talking about.

Craig could only watch him leave.

— — —

After the encounter, Craig’s a little dazed as he made his way back up to the apartment. All he could think of was that blond boy. _The_ blond boy. Coffee shop guy, as he dubbed him in his head. God, he was so stupid. He didn’t even get his _name_.

The familiar ding of the elevator door pulled him out of his wallowing regret. He got in, pressed the button to his floor and allowed the steel door to trap him in alone with his thoughts. Was he ever going to see him again? He wasn’t sure if he could live the rest of his life not seeing that smile again. And, okay- was he even hearing himself _think_ right now? He sounded like a fucking romance novel. But it was true. Craig had to find him again. He just had to.

Where would he even start looking? Maybe if he went to the grocery store next week at the exact same time he did today, he’d be there again? Hm. No, that was a dumb idea. _Or_ he could look for the coffee shop he worked in. But that might prove to be difficult since naturally, around the area of a college campus, there were coffee shops littered everywhere. However, it wasn’t like Craig didn’t have a lead as to where he was. Before he ran off, he _did_ say his shift was in 10 minutes which could possibly mean that he worked near the grocery store.

Craig almost didn’t notice the elevator stop and open for him to get off on his floor. He stepped  out and was on autopilot as he walked to the apartment. It’d be a good start, he thought. Looking at coffee shops near the grocery store. He could start with that.

He walked briskly down the hall and pulled his keys out when he reached his apartment door, silver number ‘1501’ shining proudly on it. When he swung the door open, he plopped the Red Bull onto the dining table. He barely had time to hear Clyde on the couch greet him with a chipper, “Hey, Craig! You got my-” before he was turning and leaving the apartment again to go on the little mission he gave himself.

— — —

It didn’t take Craig long at all to locate the coffee shop he hoped to find. He eventually spotted just the person he was looking for at a place called “Tweek Bros.” He damn near had a heart attack when he peered inside and saw coffee shop guy working the counter, scribbling down someone’s name on a cup. God, he looked even cuter with an apron tied around his waist. Craig chewed on his lip, standing outside the shop by himself with his hands in his pockets feeling like an idiot.

He found him. Now what?

Well...Craig had a crush on him. He could admit that much. He was sure of it because what else could the feelings be? Indigestion? He shook the thought off. It was a crush, he concluded. The next logical step would be to ask him for a date, as one did when they had a crush. So that’s what he was gonna do. Right now. Of course. He could do that. That he could do. Totally.

Craig took a breath.

The little bell above the door announced his arrival as he pushed past the glass. In large strides made possible by his long legs, he sped walk down to the back of the line. He hung his head a little, posture slouching slightly more than normal. There were a couple of other customers in front of him and he stood there wishing with all that he had that this line would move as slow as humanly possible because he just...wasn’t ready. Craig shifted his weight on each foot nervously.

He was 2 customers away from asking coffee shop guy out. What would he even say? How _did you_ ask someone out? He’d never done it before, he’d only ever been the one getting asked. Craig had always just been the guy who did the answering and it appeared he’d been dangerously underestimating how hard it was to be the person on the other side of that. Would it be best to just cut the bullshit and say it outright? Or have a short conversation leading up to it? A pick-up line? He could look one up right now on his phone if he needed. Did pick-up lines even work? His mind was busy asking question after question he didn’t know the answers to.

Startled by the line moving forward one person, Craig felt that his palms were starting to sweat a little. Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck. He was just one person away now and he was thankful the customer was tall, just as tall as he was in her high heels. It made it easier for Craig not to get a look at coffee shop guy. Craig tried to block out his voice coming from behind the counter, knowing hearing it would just make his mind infinitely more fried. Think. He had to think. His brain felt emptier than it has ever felt before as he desperately tried to pull ideas from it that it didn’t have.

And before he knew it, just as he feared, the woman in front of him stepped to the side. A familiar voice made his heart jump. “Next, please!”

...Shit.

Craig gulped and ripped his gaze from the floor to look at _him_ and once he did, what little planning he managed to put together was completely wiped. Grey blue eyes shifted to the name tag on coffee shop guy’s apron. It read ‘ _Tweek_.’ He finally had a name to the face. A weird name. But a name regardless.

“O-oh, it’s you from the grocery store! Um, hi!” Coffee shop guy- _Tweek_ \- greeted.

Craig’s tongue felt like sandpaper in his mouth. It was a miracle he managed to spit out a reply. “Yeah, th-that’s, yep. Uh. That’s me. Hi.”

‘ _Wow_ ,’ he thought to himself. Real eloquent. He _felt_ like a mess, of course he’d _sound_ like one too.

“A-are you, ngh, here to get a coffee?” Tweek asked.

“Yeah! Yeah, definitely. I love coffee. Coffee’s the best. I- yeah. I like, um...coffee,” Craig managed, gritting his teeth afterward, cringing at his blatant lie. What was he talking about? He fucking hated coffee.

“I like it too! Probably, gh, a little _too_ much,” Tweek admitted with a small smile. Craig’s heart leapt to his throat. Well, then. He guessed it didn’t hurt to _pretend_ to like it. “So, what’ll you have?”

Craig drew at a blank. He had no idea what any of the fancy drinks listed on the menu board meant. Panicked, he quickly picked one at random. “Um, I’ll have a, uh, a medium...iced...caramel ma-chi-ato?”

Behind the counter, Tweek bit his lip, soft laughter bubbling out from him. Why was he laughing? Did he say that wrong? Craig would smack himself in the back of the head if he could. He should’ve actually learned how to say these fancy coffee drink names before he came in. But at the same time, he’d make an absolute fucking fool out of himself again and again if it meant hearing that laugh. Once Tweek’s laughter subsided, he was back to taking the order, a pretty smile still lingering. Craig was dead sure he wasn’t going to make it out of this alive.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Got it. A caramel macchiato,” Tweek mused. “Anything else?”

“No, I think I’m good,” Craig replied, smiling crooked. He was a little lacking in the money department; getting the coffee was barely even in his budget. He simply couldn’t afford to get anything else. He nearly winced as he pulled out his wallet and paid for the drink.

“Okay! C-can I have your, gh, name?” Tweek asked, a marker in one hand and a plastic cup in another. Tweek beamed at him. _God_ , the way his chubby cheeks reached his eyes and made them squint a little when he smiled. It was all he could think about and it made Craig’s bones feel like liquid. He was barely holding himself up.

“...Uh, can you tell me your name, please?” Tweek asked.

Craig chewed on his lip. Shit, right. His name. Tweek wanted to know his name. He could tell him that. He could say his name. Right.

...What was his name again?

“My name! Yeah. I-it’s, uh...” Craig mumbled. His mind drew a complete blank, the awkward but cute little smile on Tweek’s face as he waited making it all the worse for him. He just couldn’t _for the life of him_ remember what his name was. Did it start with a T? There was a T in there somewhere, he was sure of it. Craig had no idea how long he stood at the counter before he heard a tired sigh from behind him. He felt a hand on his arm and suddenly, he was being pushed aside gently.

“Craig. His name is Craig,” the person- a woman- said. Shit. She was right. How the fuck did he forget? Wait a second, how did she even know? Before Craig could ask, she answered for him. “I sit behind you in Intro Astronomy.”

“Oh, okay. Uh, thanks,” Craig muttered sheepishly. Tweek wrote his name down on the cup.

“Thanks! That’ll be $1.99,” Tweek said. Once Craig handed him a couple of crumpled bills, he spoke again as he put them in the register and closed it. “So, you study Astronomy?”

Holy shit. Tweek actually found him interesting enough to keep talking to him? Craig’s stomach did flips. “Yeah, I’m majoring in it.”

Tweek nodded in what Craig hoped to be interest. “ _Wow_. So that’s-”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I’m pretty sure you guys are done here?” the woman behind Craig- the one who apparently was in a class with him- chimed in.

“O-oh, yeah. Right,” Tweek said, cheeks faintly pink. “Um, your name will be called when, gh, your drink’s done.”

Craig nodded and took off to the side to wait for his drink. A couple of minutes of just standing there later, he realized: _he didn’t even ask him out_. God, fuck, he was an idiot. He wished someone were there to smack the shit out of him right now for not doing what he went there to do. To be fair, however, he was way too nervous to do it. Not only would he have gotten rejected by the prettiest guy he’d ever seen in his life, he’d be getting rejected in public and holding up a line doing so. So, okay, maybe it was a good thing Craig didn’t ask him out right then and there.

There was a lot going on in his head. He was thinking way too hard and way too much. His mind was usually one-tracked so all these ideas and thoughts and feelings at once- this was new territory. Right now, he needed a clear head. One thought at a time. Okay. He wanted to ask him out. But he couldn’t do that if he wasn’t sure Tweek liked him back. So, what could fix that?

Well, he could try and gauge how Tweek felt about him. He could come back to the shop every day, chat him up, get to know him a little more and maybe Tweek would give him signals. A sign. _Something_ that would indicate if he was interested or not. He did seem to like Craig enough to want to keep talking to him even after their business at the counter was done. But the problem was...he wasn’t very good at picking up signals at all. Craig was intelligent in every other area except with emotions. He never deemed it to be important. Well, now he knew why other people did. He hated all this dancing and skirting around, he was usually a very direct person. But for some reason, in this situation, he just...couldn’t be.

“Craig! Caramel macchiato for Craig?” Tweek’s voice rung out and Craig stopped breathing for a second at the sound of his name coming from that angel of a voice. He wanted to hit pause, press rewind and hear Tweek say it again and again and again. ‘Craig’ was so mundane, so common, such an average-Joe name. Hell, a few minutes ago, he straight up forgot it. But _fuck_. That voice made sure he never forgot it again.

— — —

The thing was that Tweek wasn’t just pretty, Craig found. Oh, no. He was also sweet. Smart. Talented. Funny. Kind. Gentle. Other adjectives that Craig thought hadn’t been invented yet.

Craig usually came to the shop at its dead hours when he thankfully didn’t have a class to go to. That way, he could spend a huge chunk of his time hanging out at the counter with Tweek without holding up a line before he had to go find a seat and struggle to finish the coffee he didn’t even want. He’d been needing to take money out of his savings just to pay for them but he didn’t mind at all. And hey, what he was doing wasn’t creepy if Craig actually was drinking the coffee he was buying like clockwork. Right?

Anyways, back to Tweek. Tweek. Tweek. Tweek. He always had something to talk about. He swore their conversations could go on for hours and Craig wouldn’t get tired of it. He noticed Tweek was interested in an array of things, most of them on the creative side. Music, art, literature and of course, baking. When Craig asked him questions related to any of them, Tweek would easily go off and get lost in his answer.

(“Oh, you play the piano? Is it hard?”

“I don’t think so? Not for me, anyway. I’ve been playing since I was a kid and I, gh, love it so much! It just kind of comes naturally to me now since I’ve been playing for so long. I can spend like, forever writing melodies and- ”)

Meanwhile, Craig could only stand dumbly as Tweek described how he thought he could improve his banana muffin recipe or what he thought the main character’s ulterior motives were in the book he was currently reading. And it’s not that Craig didn’t get any of what Tweek was saying, it’s more that he lacked just a _little_ bit of knowledge when it came to creatives.

(“I’ve been trying out painting recently. It’s a lot of fun! I tried doing a piece using _just_ primary colors but...I don’t think it turned out that great.”

“Hey, don’t say that. I’m sure it looked fucking cool. Green’s a pretty sweet color.”

“Craig, green’s not a primary color.”

“...Oh.”)

Okay, maybe a lot.

Which was why things like Tweek’s detailed descriptions of baking on parchment paper vs bare non-stick sheets vs silicone baking mats went way over his head. But Craig loved to see his eyes light up when he went off topic from catching a new idea. The happy chatter only had Craig smiling dopey as the coffee he ordered cooled in his hand. When Tweek got extra excited about the conversation, he used his hands when he talked. And _god_ , what Craig would give just to hold them.

— — —

All Craig wanted to do was go back to the apartment to grab his stuff for class. He still had that post-Tweek glow so he had a little bit of pep in his step as he made his way up to his floor. But soon he found out that no, he couldn’t have the little moment of peace he desired because as soon as he pushed past the front door, he saw Clyde and Token sat on the couch almost menacingly. Like they were expecting him. With Clyde leaned back on the leather and Token’s leg resting on his knee, they looked like a couple of super villains who’ve been waiting for him to walk into their trap. Craig had no idea what they were up to nor did he particularly care. He only stared at the pair for a short beat before walking away to find his bag.

“Hey, no, no, no,” Clyde protested, getting up from his seat and heading towards Craig.

Not giving enough of a shit to turn his head towards his friend, Craig walked into his room, leaving the door open. “Dude, what do you want?”

“Well, lately, you’ve been out all the time _every day_ for like 2 weeks now,” Clyde pointed out.

...Oh. That’s what this was about.

“Aren’t you like, going to tell us why?” Clyde asked.

Craig paused and thought carefully for a moment before selecting his decision. “No.”

“ _What_?! Why not?” Clyde pressed.

Finally catching sight of his bag, Craig picked it up before turning back around to face Clyde and he _had to_ be facing him when he said this as to make himself absolutely clear. Slowly as if he were telling a 5 year old why they shouldn’t hit other kids during playtime, he reasoned. “Because it’s none of your business.”

Face scrunched up and colored confused, Clyde stammered like he was offended, “Wha- none of our- dude, _yes it is_! We’re your friends! If you’re doing shady shit, we have to know!”

“Shady shit?” Craig repeated, scowling. What the fuck did they think he was doing? Selling heroin?

“Look, we’re just concerned, man,” Token reasoned calmly. “We wanna make sure you’re okay. You’ve been acting a little weird lately too. You don’t have to tell us everything, we just want to know if you’re all good.”

Craig drew out a long breath. They seemed genuinely concerned about him. He guessed he had to tell them _something_. “I’m fine. I’ve just been...hanging out with someone.”

He tilted his head down and looked off to the side. Clyde seemed to catch this expression because he jumped at the opportunity to tease him, a wide grin stretched across his face. “ _Ooooh_ , hanging out? You’re dating someone aren’t you?”

Craig could feel the tips of his ears go hot. He scowled. “No! No, I’m not- I just...like him.”

He had no idea why he said that but he deeply, deeply regretted revealing that much as soon as it left his mouth. This piece of information had Clyde even more intrigued. “What?! You like someone?! Toke, we _gotta_ see what this dude’s like!”

Punching Craig in the shoulder playfully, Clyde pried. “So, when are you gonna introduce us to him, huh?”

Craig frowned. “Who said I was gonna do that? You’re just gonna ruin it for me.”

“Wha- dude that was _one time_!” Clyde whined, referencing the prom incident in the 11th grade that Craig still hasn’t quite forgiven him for.

“Look, I don’t care, alright?” Craig bit back. “I’m not gonna risk you ruining my chances with this guy. He’s...I like him a lot. So just- just don’t.”

“Alright, alright,” Clyde agreed, waving his hand in Craig’s direction. “But you better bag him! You sound so gross in love it’s sick, bro.”

Craig rolled his eyes, a dark blush forming on his cheeks as he pushed past Clyde and the conversation to get to class.

— — —

Craig was panicking. Kind of. Maybe a little bit.

...Okay, a _lot_ a bit.

He was sitting in the coffee shop and the source of said panic was the warm mug in his hand. In it was, as usual, some kind of coffee. Was it a cappuccino? A latte? He didn’t know, didn’t care and it didn’t matter because that wasn’t the important part. The part that was making his pulse go a million miles a minute was what was floating _on top_ of the drink. When he received the warm beverage from Tweek, he froze and stared at it like a deer in headlights. Craig couldn’t even have his usual talk with Tweek. All he could manage was to bolt straight to an empty table by the window, leaving Tweek confused and mid-conversation. Craig’s throat felt dry yet he had no desire to take a sip of his drink. But this time, the reason wasn’t because he didn’t like coffee.

It was because of the heart-shaped foam art Tweek had done in his cup.

‘ _This is it_ , _this must be it_ ,’ Craig thought frantically. ‘ _I’ve been waiting for him to give me a sign he likes me. This is the one._ ’

Suddenly, Craig was hyper aware of himself, straightening his back up to keep from slouching because Tweek might be watching him because _holy shit_ , Tweek liked him back. He actually fucking liked him back. _Fuck_. He stared unwavering at the heart shaped foam art swirled on top of the warm beverage. It was perfect. It looked a little sloppy, almost resembling a peach. It must have been his first time doing this. And he did it for _Craig_. He bit his lip to suppress the huge smile that wanted to come out.

Something- a confidence- sparked in him. He had to ask Tweek out now. No excuses, no nothing. Not now that he knew this. He clutched the warm mug like it was treasure, finally giving up and smiling fondly at it, feeling fucking crazy for doing so but he couldn’t help it. He glanced over at Tweek, who was standing by the toaster oven, waiting for a pastry to heat up, he presumed. _‘Later_ ,’ Craig thought. ‘ _I’ll ask after he’s done_.’

About a minute later, Tweek was taking a tray and sliding the pastry, which turned out to be a danish, onto a plate. However, instead of calling out the customers name, to Craig’s surprise, Tweek took the plate and walked around the counter to serve it to the customer himself. He gave a polite smile before placing it down onto the customer’s table. God, he was perfect. Whenever he smiled, Craig felt a wave of something like nausea wash over him. But it was a good nausea.

After snapping out of his little daze, Craig realized something. He could order a pastry like that customer did so that way, Tweek would serve it to him, they’d chat at his table and then he could figure asking him out from there. It wasn’t a bad plan and truthfully, Craig just wanted to get it over with already because the thought of going on a date with Tweek was making him more giddy than he’d like to admit.

And so he set his mug down carefully as to not ruin the design Tweek had worked so hard on and got up and to the counter to order a cookie. It was a quick, admittedly awkward exchange but it was only because Craig had no idea how to act now that he knew about Tweek’s feelings for him. But it was fine. Whatever. He walked, albeit a bit briskly, back to where he was sat. His fingers were drumming against where his knees were exposed by his ripped jeans, feeling a little jittery, a little nervous. His eyes darted to his mug, the foam treasure looking a little more rough yet he still loved it. Briefly, he wondered whether he should take a picture of it just to look back on it when he and Tweek would have their anniversary or whatever other relationship milestone there was. But that was thinking way too far ahead. Craig pulled his head back down to the present.

Lost in his daydreams, he almost didn’t notice when Tweek gingerly placed a plate on his table, a warm cookie on top of it. “Hey, Craig! Here’s your order.”

With this, Craig snapped out of his little nervous trance. Showtime.

“Hey, Tweek. Uh, you wanna like, stay here and talk to me? For a little bit?” Craig asked, hoping to god he didn’t sound like a loser. Tweek may have liked him but one incredibly lame move could possibly change that. “I mean, if that’s okay. I don’t wanna keep you from the counter- like, working, uh you know. I know we usually talk there, but...”

“No, I don’t mind! No one, ngh, comes in at this time anyway,” Tweek replied like Craig didn’t already know that. He took a seat on the armrest of the cushiony chair Craig was sat on. “Besides, I...I really like talking to you.”

Craig could feel the corners of his lips tugging up, butterflies back in his stomach. “I like talking to you too.”

Well. It was now or never.

Craig cleared his throat. “So a-are you...doing anything when you get off work?” He smiled in a way he hoped was attractive, but probably came out all crooked and awkward. But the asking itself went pretty fucking solid, if he did say so himself.

“Yeah, actually, I am!” Tweek answered enthusiastically.

And, well.

Huh.

Craig didn’t know why he was expecting Tweek to be free after work. But apparently he wasn’t. But hey, that was okay. Craig could just rephrase his question and ask him if he was free tomorrow instead. And he was going to do exactly that but then Tweek continued to speak.

“I’m gonna be hanging out with my, uh…he’s a...” Tweek paused in thought, glancing away for a second before he decided, “a friend?”

That was a weird pause. What was that pause there for? Why did he say it like that? Like it was a question. “Friend?” As if it was hard for him to say it. Craig brushed it off, shook the wobbly assumptions from his thoughts. It was no big deal, his mind went pessimistic for a second and he was overthinking.

“We’re gonna be jamming out together,” Tweek expounded. “I’m gonna play the piano and he’s gonna sing! He’s a really good singer; I love his voice so much. It’s so nice and silky and smooth.”

Craig sat there, blinking and watching as Tweek just _gushed_ continuously about this “friend?” Who on Earth talked about someone who was a “friend” that way? Certainly not Craig. Or anyone he’d ever been friends with. But hey, maybe Tweek was just nice like that.

However, as Tweek went on, Craig began feeling more and more like shit. He was squashing all of his own justifications he’d made up to explain all that gushing. In retrospect, he only had himself to blame. How the fuck did it not cross his mind to think that someone like _Tweek_ already had someone? With Tweek looking the way he did and being that unbelievably sweet and kind- how did Craig not think of that? Tweek had a huge crush on this guy he had nothing but nice things to say about. That was pretty obvious now. And of course the guy liked Tweek back. Without a fucking doubt. Why wouldn’t he? There was absolutely nothing not to like.

Craig could sit on his ass for hours wracking his brain to think of something he disliked about Tweek and he’d come up with 0 search results and that was simply because there really was nothing to dislike. All that would come up was how the way Tweek bit his bottom lip in concentration made his knees feel weak. Or how when Tweek touched his arm sometimes, it made him feel like he was on the edge of a fever. But that was all on Craig, it wasn’t Tweek’s fault he felt that way around him. No matter how strongly Craig felt about him, Tweek and this guy liked each other. No fucking wonder the word “friend” was so hard for him to get out. He and that guy weren’t _just friends_.

“-And you wanna know what else? He’s really nice to me. Not a lot of people are, you know? B-but _he_ was!” Tweek finished excitedly.

The pain in Craig’s chest was getting to be a bit unbearable right about then. There was a heavy weight where he swore his heart was. It was a physical ache, a phenomenon Craig had never really experienced from, well, emotional damage. He didn’t even know how that worked, but it was real and it was happening to him. All he could think about was how much he wanted to leave the shop before Tweek could notice he wasn’t feeling the best.

“Uh. That- that’s cool,” Craig managed with great effort. “Hey, I gotta go now. I’ll...I’ll see you around, alright?” He got up from his seat, feeling drained as if his legs forgot how to work.

“Oh...okay,” Tweek replied, not masking his surprise at Craig’s sudden goodbye. “Are you gonna finish your coffee?”

Craig shook his head and hoped to god he wouldn’t sound frail. “No, I’m good. Just...sorry.”

The weight inside him and the loud thoughts in his head making it harder and harder by the second to be there, Craig stepped out, walking away from his table and away from Tweek. The room suddenly felt so much bigger, colder and emptier. He only made it halfway to the exit when he felt a hand on his arm. Warm.

“Wait,” Tweek’s voice, gentle and soft and everything Craig liked about him rolled into that one word. It made his thoughts yell just a bit quieter. “Craig, are you okay? Is there something wrong?”

Clueless on what to answer, Craig could only dart his eyes nervously around him at the few customers hanging around the shop. He noticed they _all_ had heart foam art on their coffees too. Just like he had in his. He felt himself sink lower. Even _that_ wasn’t special to just him. And fuck, Craig didn’t want to cry. He wasn’t a crier. Never was.

“...Craig?” Tweek said, concerned.

It took all Craig had in him to muster up an answer. “I-I’m fine. You should get back to work.”

With that, he gently broke out of Tweek’s hold and left.

— — —

Friday nights were Clyde’s designated party nights.

They were for, as you might’ve guessed, going to parties. Most of the parties he went to were ones he wasn’t invited in, however. He’d just hear about them around campus through word of mouth, acted like he was invited then hoped to god no one would notice he didn’t belong when he’d attempt to crash them. Clyde always made it a goal to charm some girl enough to bring her back to the apartment and get lucky. There had only been exactly one time where he almost succeeded, but when the girl took his shirt off, Clyde got so nervous and was just buzzed enough that he projectile vomited all over his sheets. Clyde told the story to Craig and Token way differently the next morning but Craig knew what really happened. He heard it all from the comfort of his bedroom, which was right next to Clyde’s, the night it happened.

This Friday night, however, Clyde decided to skip on attempting to fuck. It was for a noble cause, though. One that involved trying to cheer up one Craig Tucker. Craig could barely peel himself up from the couch when he came back to the apartment after getting his hopes crushed. Thankfully, at some point, he managed to get up and go to all his classes. But when he was done for the day and could finally come back to the apartment, all Craig could do was sink deep between the couch cushions watching old Red Racer episodes on the living room TV.

To Clyde, It was pretty pathetic, which was why he decided to stay instead of go and party. He had to be there for his best friend, even though Craig was being incredibly difficult and not telling him why he was acting so pissy and depressed. In fact, Craig vehemently denied he was even acting different.

“For the hundredth fucking time, Clyde, I’m _fine_ ,” Craig insisted, sounding tired and worn. He sunk deeper into the couch, wishing the cushions would just swallow him whole so he didn’t have to deal with Clyde.

“Come on, man. You and I both know that’s not true,” Clyde insisted.

“Can you leave already?” Craig hissed. “I just wanna watch TV.”

Clyde opened his mouth to speak, but got cut off. “Alone,” Craig added with a finality. Unfortunately for him, Clyde wasn’t giving up so easily.

“You have to tell me what’s up, dude. I haven’t seen you like this since your hamster- I-I mean- _guinea pig_ died!” Clyde said.

“Really? You’re gonna bring that up _now_?” Craig said, exasperated.

“A-ha! So you’re admitting something’s up!” Clyde said.

“I’m not admitting _shit_!” Craig exclaimed, wildly irritated at this point. He just wanted to have time for himself after he had his heart stomped on, set on fire and slam dunked into a dumpster. Where there was pressure in Craig’s chest before, there was now a hollow emptiness. Craig couldn’t even describe it with words. It wasn’t even emptiness, which suggested that there was the presence of something before it- the potential maybe, of he and Tweek getting together. But no, that was never there.

Tweek used to be what he woke up for every morning for the past couple of weeks. What he looked forward to the most. But now, what Craig felt right now was just a lot of…nothing. It was stupid to be feeling this way over some guy he only knew for a couple of weeks, he knew that. But every time he blinked, he’d see Tweek’s smile burned into the back of his eyelids and he wanted so badly to be the cause of that smile every day for the rest of his life. It was stupid. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reason himself out of it.

He wanted to get his mind off Tweek and how he already had a perfect guy with a perfect voice who probably serenaded him every day because he was just that fucking perfect. Craig wanted to drown himself in a good distraction: TV. But Clyde had to go and rush to his side and ask way too many questions that were completely counterproductive to Craig’s goal of forgetting about Tweek.

“...It’s about that guy isn’t it?” Clyde asked. The question hung in the air tensely between them for a moment.

Craig let out a harsh breath, one that reminded Clyde way too much of a bull about to charge at a matador. “Clyde, if you don’t leave me alone right the fuck now-”

The front door swung open, and Token’s voice interrupted Craig’s threat. “Hey, guys!”

Great. Just great. More people. Just what he needed.

“‘Sup, Toke!” Clyde greeted. “And...uh...other guy.”

Well, that was weird. Token almost never brought anyone over. Curious enough to do so, Craig turned around and his jaw almost fell to the ground when he saw _Tweek_ . Coffee-Shop-Tweek. Not that he even knew any other Tweeks but- holy fuck, that was _Tweek_.

And then Craig thought, ‘ _What the fuck is going on?_ ’

Tweek was wrapped up in a scarf, nose tinged red and he was all one thousand shades of adorable. He had a bag with him that Craig could only guess by its shape contained a keyboard. Like, a piano keyboard. Tweek did say a while back that he was going to be jamming. With Token, though? _Token_ was his not-just-friend? It appeared he was. Craig didn’t even know Token was gay- or bi, he guessed, since Token had a girlfriend, Nichole, but- wait a second. _Token had a girlfriend_. So Tweek was being led on?

Too tangled in the mess in his brain, he almost didn’t catch Token introduce them. “Oh, right! Tweek, these are my roommates, Clyde and Craig. Clyde, Craig, this is Tweek.”

Tweek stopped short when he saw Craig, his eyes widening. “H-hi,” Tweek said, tilting his head. “I didn’t know you lived with Token.”

“I-I, uh, yeah?” Craig stuttered, getting up from the depths of the couch like it was on fire. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth. “Hi, um. Hi, Tweek.”

“Wait, you two know each other?” Token asked.

“Yeah, he...comes into the shop sometimes,” Tweek said, playing with a stray lock of his hair. “We talk about like, baking and books and music and stuff.”

Token looked like he was in thought for a moment before he went, “ _Ohhhhh_. Is Craig the guy you haven’t been shutting up abou-”

“ _Token_ ,” Tweek hissed. He turned back to Craig with a small nervous smile. “Um, I- hi.”

“Hi,” Craig said again, feeling a tiny smile creep up onto his face. Why? He didn’t know why.

Craig and Tweek stood there doing nothing but look at each other for a while and Clyde, who’d been silent since Tweek walked in, looked from Craig, to Tweek, then back to Craig. His lips pursed in thought for a moment before a light bulb seemed to pop up on his head. A light bulb moment. Pretty rare for him. Clyde caught Token’s gaze and gave him a look. Token stared at him inquisitively for a few seconds before the message Clyde was trying to send finally reached his brain. Token’s eyes widened and he nodded in understanding.

“Clyde and I have to go-- do something,” Token said, about as subtle as a brick hitting you right in the face.

Confused, Tweek spoke up. “But Token, weren’t we gonna-”

“Yeah, we’ll do that later,” Token said with a dismissing wave. “We gotta go. Have fun, guys!”

And with that, the door closed as Clyde and Token exited the apartment, leaving just them. Just Craig and Tweek. Just Craig and the guy he had a crush on who had a crush on his friend but probably didn’t know said friend already had a girlfriend. Oh boy.

“So, um…” Tweek started, breaking the silence. “You...have a coffee maker! Do you want me to make you some coffee?” Tweek moved to the kitchen, already on his tiptoes to reach and open the overhead cabinets to look for coffee.

Oh, god. Craig didn’t think he could handle coffee right now. He could barely finish the cups he had to have every day when he’d come to see Tweek and those were when he was in a good mood. Tweek let out a quiet noise of victory when he found it.

Craig shook his head. “No thanks. It’s uh, the coffee’s not mine.”

“Really?” Tweek asked. “But it’s in the cabinet labeled ‘Our Stuff.’”

Fuck. Craig silently cursed Clyde for having way too much fun that one time he got a label maker just for shits. He labelled everything around the apartment, some of them being the kitchen cabinets. He slapped a label on one for each of them and one for the food they agreed they all owned. Including coffee. Craig shook his head. “Uh...you know, you don’t _have_ to.”

“I want to! I know you like coffee,” Tweek said genuinely, turning to smile at Craig. He was wrong. Nonetheless, there was a warm, sloshy feeling somewhere in Craig’s chest. He took a seat on the couch while he waited for Tweek, grabbing his phone and pretending to be busy with it when really, he was sitting there and soaking everything up.

Okay. There was a lot to unpack. Craig didn’t want Tweek to get his heart crushed like his earlier that morning. Craig had to break it to him gently that Token wasn’t interested in him, no matter what he may have been thinking. Well, at least Craig didn’t _think_ Token was. To his knowledge, he was straight and there was no way in hell he’d cheat on Nichole, who he’d been dating for like, 3 entire years now. Craig knew for sure that Token, who he’d known since they were kids, had stayed loyal in all his past relationships. He didn’t have a shit track record. So why would he cheat now? Fuck that. Token leading Tweek on on purpose was totally out of the question.

He felt a pang knowing Tweek was crushing on someone who didn’t feel the same way. It was a horrible feeling and it was going to be the biggest fucking kick in the nuts seeing Tweek’s reaction when Craig eventually had to break it to him. Which, unfortunately, he absolutely had to. Craig didn’t want to be the one to do it but the longer Tweek led himself to believe he and Token could become something, the harder it’d be on him when he’d find out it was all one-sided. Craig gulped, feeling the exact same pressure on his chest as he did at the coffee shop that morning.

After a while, the scent of coffee was enveloping the air like a warm blanket. But it wasn’t comforting him at all. Craig felt a dip in the couch when Tweek gingerly took a seat next to him, setting one mug of the steaming beverage down in front of Craig and another one in front of himself. Craig said a quiet ‘thanks’ and took it in his hand. Just to warm himself up. And silently drawing in a long breath, Craig braced himself.

“Hey, so…” Craig began lowly, sounding awkward already. “Token, huh?”

“Hmm?” Tweek said, pulling the coffee away from his lips. “Oh, Token! Yeah, he’s _really_ great.”

There it was again. The pressure. But Craig continued. “You guys are friends?”

“Well...I don’t know if we’re _friends_. I don’t know,” Tweek said, a weird look on his face. “I-I mean, we get along super well! But I don’t know, the only reason we even started talking was because he needed me to help him write songs for his and his, ngh, girlfriend’s anniversary soon. Like, a-are we really friends? Or does he just need me for that, you know? Gah!”

‘ _What?!_ ’ Craig thought, frozen. Hold the fucking phone. Tweek _knew_ Token had a girlfriend? He was _helping him write songs for her_ , even? And he was _still_ hung up on him? Even with the fact that Token was sappy enough to write fucking songs for Nichole aside, this was way worse than Craig thought. He decided to see if he could find out a bit more.

“How did you guys meet?” Craig asked, sounding a little like a detective interrogating a suspect. Tweek hummed.

“Well, one night, my parents thought it’d bring in more customers if there were live music in the shop so, _gh_ , they had me play on my keyboard,” Tweek started, took another sip of coffee and continued. “And, um…after I finished playing, Token came up to me and told me how much he loved the music. It was the first time anyone’s ever encouraged me like that! Gah, it made me so happy! B-but anyway, after that, he offered to, uh...to pay me to help him write songs and then...yeah.”

A pause. “But I-I didn’t take the money!” Tweek cleared up quickly. “I’m just happy to help! I love writing melodies anyway and he’s _such_ a nice guy.”

There he was again, talking about Token like...like _that_. Craig spoke slowly, “So you’re... _okay_ with Token having a girlfriend?”

“More than okay! I’m really happy for him,” Tweek chirped before lifting his coffee up and drinking. He held it with both hands, warming them up.

“So you’re not upset _at all_?” Craig asked incredulously.

“Huh? Why would I be?” Tweek asked, tilting his head.

“ _Because_ ,” Craig said.

“Because what?” Tweek asked, sounding even more confused.

“Because you like him?!” Craig said like it was obvious.

“ _What_?!” Tweek exclaimed, nearly dropping Token’s very expensive mug.

“What?” Craig said, surprised at Tweek’s response.

“ _What_?!” Tweek said again. “Where’d you get _that_ idea?!”

“Wh- because you- when you- in the shop- and-” Craig stammered aimlessly, sounding like a complete fucking idiot. So he _didn’t_ like Token?! Judging by how Tweek was sounding, the answer was an obvious no. Craig floundered for words to say. “I-I’m sorry I assumed- I just thought- I don’t know. I’m sorry!”

Tweek giggled lightly, sounding maybe a little unsteady and Craig hoped he was laughing at the situation and not at him. Tweek glanced off to the side for a couple of seconds in thought and then looked back at Craig. Tweek took a breath. Steady. And when he spoke, his voice was just the tiniest bit shaky. “I...I don’t like _Token_.”

Before Craig could even start to process the verbal confirmation, he felt a light pressure on his hand. It felt like soft, slightly trembling fingertips. He looked down at his hand to see a smaller, pale one placed gently on top of it. Craig looked up at Tweek’s face. The nervous little smile. The deep blush. The hand on top of his.

 _This_ was Tweek’s sign.

Craig held his breath, stayed still, and then turned his hand around to hold Tweek’s properly. And that right there, it felt right. Craig was giving him a sign right back. And then he looked at Tweek, the relief on his face at the action, his sincere eyes. Craig couldn’t stop his lips from curling into a crooked, shy smile.

Letting out low breathed laughter, he leaned down and set his untouched coffee on the table. “And I don’t like coffee,” Craig confessed quietly.

Silent for a few beats, Tweek looked confused. His thin eyebrows scrunched up, trying to figure out why Craig always came to the shop if he apparently didn’t even like coffee. But then his eyes widened in realization. “ _Oh_.”

Tweek bit his lip in an attempt to conceal a giddy smile and Craig squeezed his hand softly. There was a happy tumbling in his stomach. Pale fingertips were light on Craig’s knuckles and all he wanted to do was lace their fingers together. They were quiet for a while, not really knowing what to do next. When Tweek broke the silence, it seemed Craig’s stupidity was at the forefront of his mind still.

“...Did you really think I liked Token?” Tweek asked, amused.

Embarrassed, Craig replied, “I-I don’t know it was just- the way you talked about him, I thought...God, I’m sorry. I was being fucking dumb.”

“No, no! _I’m_ sorry. You’re not dumb,” Tweek reassured and Craig disagreed but couldn’t get a word out because suddenly, Tweek was holding onto his hand with both of his. “I-I mean, I can see why you thought that but I- it was just- I was really excited to hang out with him ‘cause I...I’m not used to having friends. _Ngh_ , my tics weird a lot of people out so they, um...don’t really wanna be around me.”

Craig frowned at Tweek’s confession. “Well...I don’t think it’s weird. If you ask me, those fuckers are missing out.”

And that was when Tweek blushed and smiled prettier- _brighter_ \- than Craig had ever seen. Flustered and embarrassed, Tweek quickly let go of his hands and covered his own face, looking away from him.

“No, hey, don’t do that,” Craig protested, taking Tweek’s hands back in his. Tweek surprisingly didn’t offer much resistance. “I...I love your smile.”

Tweek’s blush reached the tips of his ears before he leaned on Craig to hide his face in his shoulder. “ _Craiiiiig_.”

Having Tweek leaning in so close to him like that was what finally made the weak feeling in his bones he’s had all day completely dissipate. He felt like Hercules when he got his strength back. Feeling brave, he wrapped an arm around Tweek, pulling him closer. Soft and warm and nice. Tweek was pressed up against him now, his head tucked in the space where Craig’s shoulder and neck met. It was like he belonged there, a puzzle piece Craig didn’t know was missing. The smell of vanilla-scented shampoo filled his lungs sweetly. It was a fragrance he could definitely get used to.

Tweek left out a short puff of laughter and Craig briefly wondered why. There wasn’t anything to laugh about. He vocalized his concern. “What’s so funny?”

Tweek shook his head and the blond hair tickled Craig’s neck lightly. There was a smile in his voice. “Nothing. I’m just...happy.”

Craig grinned dumb and big. “Is it ‘cause of me?”

“ _Noooo_ , it’s ‘cause of _Token_ and my big, huge crush on him,” Tweek mused, sarcasm laced in his voice. Craig could practically hear the eye roll that came with that. It was cheeky and adorable and had Craig chuckling.

“Look, I said I was sorry!” Craig said with no heat, grinning. Changing the subject, Craig spotted Tweek’s keyboard set down near the couch. “Hey, is that your, uh, piano thing?”

“...Mm?” Tweek said, turning his head to where it was. “Oh, yeah! Token and I were supposed to work on a couple of songs here since the place we usually go to was closed today.”

“Hmm...” Craig hummed thoughtfully. “Can I hear you play?”

Tweek paused. “I- ngh, r-right _now_?” he stuttered, lifting his head up from Craig’s shoulder to peer up at him.

Craig pulled away, and stood up, already going to get the keyboard to set it up. “Why not? I’m sure you sound great.”

“I-I don’t know…” Tweek said hesitantly, fiddling with the end of his sleeve.

“Well, Token liked it,” Craig pointed out, pulling the keyboard out of its bag, crouching to find a socket to plug it in.

“I know but…” Tweek trailed off, not having a follow up to that.

Craig sighed and shook his head, getting up after plugging Tweek’s instrument in. “Listen.”

He turned around and walked towards Tweek, setting the keyboard down on Tweek’s lap gently.

“You could literally just be banging your hands against this thing and I’d think it’s music.”

Tweek beamed at him, the smile reaching his eyes just the way Craig loved and he smiled back despite the fact that his breath got caught in his throat just then. He sat back down next to Tweek and bent down to nustle his chin contently on Tweek’s shoulder. Taking a breath, Tweek turned the keyboard on, placed his long, elegant fingers on the keys and began to play a slow, serene tune. Craig smiled, cozying up and putting an arm around Tweek’s waist to pull him just a little bit closer. Because he could never be close enough. He felt warm, glowing and happy and he was sure he’d be satisfied for the rest of his life sitting there next to Tweek listening to the music his fingertips were making. ‘ _This is as good as it gets_ ,’ Craig thought. But then after a while, Tweek started singing very quietly and sweetly, sounding a little nervous like he didn’t sing very often but it was beautiful nonetheless. The high, dulcet tones of his voice melted every part of Craig’s heart that wasn’t already goo. It was special. _This_ was just for him.

He felt relaxed as his eyes fluttered shut and the room turned into nothing but Tweek, the music, and the smell of coffee on Tweek’s breath as he sang.

When Clyde and Token came home half an hour later holding a store bought “Congratulations!” banner (with “to Craig, for finally getting a boyfriend” in Clyde’s handwriting written in red crayon below), the keyboard was set down on the coffee table and Craig and Tweek were bundled up in a blanket on the couch. They were both fast asleep, Craig snoring with Tweek pressed up against him smiling contentedly as if he were having a really good dream. And that was the position Clyde and Token would find the two in many, many times from then on.

— — —

The thing about love stories is that they start completely out of nowhere.

And Craig wishes this one would never, ever end.

**Author's Note:**

> Another really long one shot because they're god. This isn't my favorite thing I've written but hey, it happens. Let me know what you think of this down in the comments and thanks so much for reading!!


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